With the NFL offseason almost wrapped up and training camp coming to a close soon, it’s a good time to take a look at each NFL team’s offseason recap as we get just a few weeks away from the start of the regular season. Let’s take a look at the Green Bay Packers’ new team and analyze the team’s incoming and outgoing players as they shape up for the 2026 season.
The Packers are entering the 2026 season looking to make another playoff run in the NFC behind quarterback Jordan Love entering his fourth year under center. The Packers weren’t extremely busy over the offseason, but they made some key signings and retentions as they try to retool coming into the new season.
The first of their new acquisitions was signing defensive lineman Javon Hargrave to a two-year, $23 million deal. Hargrave’s presence will be important as he gives Green Bay another experienced interior pass rusher and will help add depth to a defensive line group that lost Rashan Gary and Kingsley Enagbare during the offseason. Hargrave will slide in next to defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt, who the Packers retained with a new three-year, $57 million extension.
The Packers also added another defensive player in Zaire Franklin at linebacker, who’ll replace the role of Quay Walker, who left the Packers in free agency. Franklin is an incredibly reliable linebacker who’s played in at least 16 games in each of his eight seasons in the NFL. Franklin also has 100+ total tackles in each of the last four seasons, including an NFL-best 173 combined tackles during the 2024 NFL season. The Packers got a great value in trading for Franklin, only giving up defensive tackle Colby Wooden, which helps the Packers with their goal of winning now.
Lastly, the Packers also made moves to bring in cornerback Benjamin St-Juste, Skyy Moore and Jonnu Smith. While there has been some defensive turnover for the Packers, their secondary remains largely unchanged from last season, and bringing in a long corner in St-Juste at 6-foot-3 gives the Packers another physical corner to boost the secondary. Moore and Smith were the main additions on the offensive side, giving Jordan Love a weapon on the outside and an athletic tight end while Tucker Kraft and Luke Musgrave return from their respective injuries.
The two biggest losses during the Packers’ offseason were defensive players Rashan Gary and Quay Walker. The Packers traded Gary to Dallas for a 2027 fourth-round pick. Gary had been one of the key pieces of Green Bay’s pass rush since being selected in the first round in 2019. His loss is more notable when considering the team also lost Kingsley Enagbare to the Jets and star pass rusher Micah Parsons is starting the season on the PUP list while recovering from his ACL injury.
After four seasons with the team, where he recorded more than 100 tackles in each of those four seasons, Walker left in free agency to sign with the Las Vegas Raiders. Walker’s departure would be a bigger deal if the Packers didn’t replace him with Zaire Franklin, who is an established veteran with plenty of production during his time with the Colts.
The Packers also lost some key offensive players and veterans in Romeo Doubs, Dontayvion Wicks, Rasheed Walker and Elgton Jenkins. Doubs signed a four-year, $70 million contract with the Patriots, and while he found success in Green Bay, the Packers have plenty of depth and have invested in their receiving room with options such as Christian Watson, Jayden Reed, Matthew Golden and more.
Both Walker and Jenkins were steady veterans who had crucial roles within the Packers’ offensive line in recent years. Walker left after three seasons as Green Bay’s starting left tackle, and his departure allows the Packers’ 2024 first-round pick in Jordan Morgan to get his first real chance to nail down the left tackle position. The Packers also released Jenkins early in the offseason, who was one of the Packers’ most versatile offensive linemen, sliding in wherever needed since the team drafted him in 2019.
The Packers didn’t have a huge draft class and lost their first-round pick as it was part of the haul they gave up to acquire Micah Parsons last season. The Packers selected six players in the draft, with four of them being on the defensive side of the football.
Their first pick was a second-round selection that was used on cornerback Brandon Cisse out of South Carolina. Cisse joins Green Bay’s secondary unit, which is strong at safety but has some questions at cornerback. The addition of Cisse, as well as St-Juste, who the Packers signed in free agency, should bolster up the unit entering the new season.
The Packers also drafted Chris McClellan (DT) and Dani Dennis-Sutton (Edge) to shore up the defensive front. Both players should have opportunities to compete for snaps due to the turnover within the defensive front over the offseason but will likely be developmental pieces for Green Bay.
The Packers didn’t make any sweeping moves over the offseason, as they’ve been successful in recent years with their established core. A big question for the Packers entering the 2026 season will be the efficiency of their pass rush group. Micah Parsons will miss the team’s first four games, and Gary and Enagbare are no longer on the roster. The Packers’ 2023 first-round pick in Lukas Van Ness and their new signing in Javon Hargrave will be tasked with picking up the slack until Parsons returns.
The offense should be largely similar with Love and his plethora of pass catchers still together. Love has a multitude of options to throw to in Watson, Reed, Golden and Kraft, but their running game may face difficulties with Josh Jacobs being listed on the exempt list to start the season due to off-field issues. Jacobs not being on the field is a big loss for the running game, and MarShawn Lloyd and Chris Brooks will have to step up in his absence.
Overall, the Packers both brought in and lost an equal amount of players, but the absences of Jacobs and Parsons to start the season could prove to be difficult for the Packers. If the Packers can survive the early stretch of the season without them and get back to full strength by the middle to late part of the season, they could be one of the bigger threats in the NFC and be in store for another playoff run.
Make sure to check out our NFL page for more content like this!
You can like The Game Haus on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for more sports and esports articles from great TGH writers!
Players must be 21 years of age or older or reach the minimum age for gambling in their respective state and located in jurisdictions where online gambling is legal. Please play responsibly. Bet with your head, not over it. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, and wants help, call or visit: (a) the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey at 1-800-Gambler or www.800gambler.org; or (b) Gamblers Anonymous at 855-2-CALL-GA or www.gamblersanonymous.org.
